Teaching ICT to teacher candidates using PBL: A qualitative and quantitative evaluation

Abstract

The idea underlying this study is that the prospective teachers develop their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills throughout the learning process supported by the Problem Based Learning (PBL), a method that produces independent learners who can, then, continue to learn on their own in their chosen careers. The major goal of the study, conducted in two phases during two academic years, is to investigate the differential effects of PBL and conventional teacher-centred instruction on cognitive and a group of affective variables which have been coined "technophobia". Phase I of the study, entirely qualitative in character, covered a case study in which a total of 111 students from three departments of the Faculty of Education took part. Phase II of the study was quasi-experimental in nature with 79 students taking part. Most of the outcomes from Phase II were based on statistical measurements. At the end of the instruction process, the findings indicated that, while there was no significant difference in the anxiety levels of the two groups, the number of successful students had registered a considerable increase. Furthermore, the students, actively involved in the learning process, solving real problems, viewed the PBL as an effective learning tool rich in motivation. Within this framework, the motivating role of ICT as a method of learning is automatically recognised.